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Rick Ward drops out of race for Bill Cassidy's 6th congressional district seat

State Sen. Rick Ward

State Sen. Rick Ward announced he would drop out of Louisiana's 6th District race on Wednesday. The Port Allen Democrat-turned-Republican said he wanted to be local during his children's formative years.
(Louisiana Legislature)

I need to spend as much time with (my children) during their formative years. For this reason, I will not be a candidate for Congress." -- Rick Ward

State Sen. Rick Ward III dropped out of the race for Louisiana's 6th congressional district on Wednesday, fewer than three weeks after announcing his intention to run. The Port Allen Republican said the decision was based on a wish to remain local during his children's "formative years."

"While considering the amount of time I will spend campaigning for Congress over the next year and serving in Congress afterwards, it has become very apparent to me that the hours and days away from my family will be extraordinary," Ward said in a statement.

"I strongly believe I need to spend as much time with (my children) as possible during their formative years. For this reason, I will not be a candidate for Congress," he added. His children are 6, 4 and 22 months.

Three other candidates remain in the race for the 6th District seat, currently occupied by U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy. The Baton Rouge Republican announced in April that he will challenge incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., for her seat in 2014, effectively giving up his own seat in Congress.

Richard Lieberman, a Democrat from LaPlace, was the first to formally sign up for the 6th District race. On his campaign website, the New Orleans native says he "will be a voice for the overlooked struggling middle class and the forgotten people of poverty."

Lieberman worked for 12 years as a paralegal at a New Orleans law firm before moving to LaPlace, where he became the owner and broker of a Re/Max Best real estate agency.

Paul Dietzel II filed as a candidate in the race in mid-May. The founder of Baton Rouge-based software company Anedot and grandson of the famed LSU football coach of the same name, Dietzel has raised more than $57,000 in three months.

Dietzel is a pro-life, pro-Second Amendment "live-long conservative" who opposes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and has called for a re-writing of the nation's tax code.